


You and I Are a Gang of Losers

by merycula (thanksillpass)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 19:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 13,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1995429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksillpass/pseuds/merycula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I'm sorry</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Contrary to popular belief (which was mostly only Aomine’s belief), he wasn’t exactly as suave as his ever-confident attitude would suggest.

So when he found himself thinking very inappropriate thoughts about Ryou and, worst of all, wanting to act on those thoughts, there wasn’t any spectacular swooping in and sweeping the object of his desire off his feet. There was much more incoherent grumbling, blushing, angry stomping off and general embarrassment.

To his despair, Satsuki knew immediately, and her laughter haunted his dreams much more often than naked Ryou, which was a lot. To his even greater despair, Ryou seemed to get the wrong idea, and started  _avoiding_ him, casting spooked glances and yelping whenever their eyes met. And then Satsuki would laugh even more. And each day would be worse than the previous one.

It was enough that he  _dropped a ball_  once, too distracted by the flex of Ryou’s arms when he was shooting. Couldn’t he at least get a few handjobs out of this mortifying situation? When a voice in his head, suspiciously similar to Satsuki’s, supplied the he wanted way more innocent things of Ryou, like hand-holding and wearing each other’s clothes, Aomine had had enough.

He cornered Ryou before classes, figuring his classmate would appreciate the fact he came to school on time especially for him, and dragged him to the bathroom. Not exactly romantic, but beggars couldn’t be chooser. Ryou trembled slightly, looking at him with wide eyes, and Aomine really hope it was just shock and not actual fear. Either way, he was pissed.

It must have been showing on his face, judging by the way Ryou moved away slightly, and Aomine could only do as much not to groan in sheer frustration.

“You drive me crazy!” he accused.

“I’m sorry!” yelped Ryou, crossing his arms in front of his face, as if afraid he would get hit.

“What, no! I meant it as a good thing!”

Ryou slowly lowered his arms and looked at him warily. “You don’t look to happy about it, Aomine-san…”

“Because I’m not! But that’s not the point! I wanna date! Date me!”

Why was he yelling? What if Ryou got scared again? What if he didn’t want him back? What if Aomine just made a complete ass out of himself?

“I’m sorry!” shrieked Ryou from behind his hands that somehow wound up at his face again.

Aomine’s tense shoulders immediately sagged in defeat. And wasn’t that an unfamiliar feeling. He was confused and probably more than a little hurt, but he managed to nod stiffly.

“You don’t wanna,” he breathed.

“I want to!” protested Ryou, flailing his hands, revealing his flushed face.

Aomine blinked and scratched his head, not caring how dumb he looked. “And that’s what you’re sorry for?”

“Yes, I’m sorry! I just- I’m sorry! Please, take care of me!”

Ryou bowed Aomine’s face stretched in a grin but he quickly forced it to fall before Ryou could see it. Ryou looked at him uncertainly and Aomine realized that he had no idea what to do now either.

Just as he was about to say something stupid, most probably, he heard a flush of water and a senior walked out of the bathroom stall. Both Aomine and Royu froze as the guy washed his hands, effectively ignoring them both. Before walking out, however, he put a hand on Aomine’s shoulder and looked at him with a straight face.

“Congratulations, man. Very romantic. Good job.”


	2. Chapter 2

Aomine’s parents were gone for the weekend and getting Ryou to come over was easy as taking a ball from Kagami. Saturday night was gonna be  _the_ night Aomine Daiki was going to finally have someone else’s hand down his pants. At least he  _thought_ he would. At the _very_ least he was determined not to spend the night in front of TV with Ryou innocently pressed against him and crying himself to sleep later.

As soon as he closed the door behind them, he moved to scoop Ryou up, slam him against the wall and kiss him breathless. However, when he lifted Ryou by the back of his thighs and the boy yelped in surprise, flailing his hands, Daiki completely lost balance and ended up knocking his head against Ryou’s, who additionally slammed the back of his against the wall behind him.

Whining in pain, Aomine instinctively lifted his hand to rub his forehead, forgetting he was using it to keep Ryou upright, and before he could breathe out a surprised curse, he was sprawled on the floor, groaning, with Ryou on top of him, clutching desperately at his shirt.

Daiki threw his arm across his face and wished the floor would open up beneath him and swallow him whole. He was breathing hard, his embarrassment matched only by the pain in his head, and he was too mortified to move and check if Ryou was alright.

“Well,” he sighed out eventually, his throat uncomfortably tight. “That looked easier on TV.”

Ryou still wasn’t talking and Aomine feared for a moment that he had knocked him unconscious, when he noticed that the boy was shaking a little.

“Are you… laughing?”

Ryou snorted into his chest and nodded, his apologies muffled by the material of the shirt and Aomine released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He moved his hand from Ryou’s thigh to his hair and ruffled it absentmindedly as his boyfriend kept laughing uncontrollably. Well, at least he didn’t make him _cry._

“Oy, Ryou, that’s enough,” he muttered after a while, getting impatient and even more embarrassed. “You’re starting to hurt my feelings.”

Ryou lifted his head to look at him and it kind of knocked the breath right out of Daiki. His eyes were shiny with tears and his cheeks were splotchy from exertion, which laughing at Aomine’s expense clearly was. He was out of breath when he muttered his usual apology, which sounded  _offensively_ insincere, and Daiki was ready to push him off himself and hide in the bathroom for the rest of his natural life.

But then Ryou pressed his hands flat against Aomine’s chest for purchase and moved to kiss him, missing his mouth entirely and ending up smooching his chin, which made him release another giggle against Daiki’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” he said around a chuckle. “That looked easier on television too. We should, uh, probably watch less TV when we’re together…”

Aomine snorted dismissively before the meaning of Ryou’s words actually sank in. He snapped his eyes to Ryou, who was biting his lips while blushing and casting unsure glances at him, and Daki was  _done for._  He let his head drop to the floor in defeat and covered his face with his hands.

“Ow…”


	3. Chapter 3

Their legs brush just slightly and Ryou squirms away uncomfortably. Aomine doesn’t appreciate the attitude. That is _not_ the boyfriend attitude. And it’s not that he’s insecure because he’s  _not_ , but Ryou should be all over him, and it makes Daiki feel weird that he actually shies away from him. He huffs in annoyance because he’s not going to  _beg_ – he’s just gonna have to teach him a lesson later.

So they’re making out on Aomine’s bed and it’s still far from perfect, because Daiki uses too much tongue and Ryou’s hands are clenched in his hair on the uncomfortable side of painful, but they’ll make it work with practice. At least Aomine hopes they will. He pulls away to look at Ryou, who’s so red he looks like he’s suffocating and Daiki shoves at his face with a grin before sitting up.

He wants to take off his shirt because it’s hot in the room but Ryou would probably cry or at least run away screaming – they’re not there yet. He opts for rubbing Ryou’s calf absentmindedly as he checks his phone he faintly remembers ringing a while ago. Ryou fidgets under his fingers and, as Aomine reaches the inside of his knee, he jerks his leg away with a yelp. Daiki raises his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, I’m ticklish,” explains Ryou, blushing even harder.

Aomine says nothing but inside, he’s howling – oh, sweet, naïve Ryou, giving away his weaknesses just like that. Daiki shrugs nonchalantly and, seeing it was Satsuki calling, drops his phone on the floor and pushes at Ryou until they’re both lying down again. Ryou puffs a nervous breath against his mouth and Aomine suddenly wants to kiss without tongue. It turns out way better than he expected.

They have a little fight before practice, because Daiki wants to skip it again and it makes Ryou angry. It used to be easier for Aomine to get rid of him, back when he actually wanted to, but now that he doesn’t, they end up  _discussing_ things and, more often than not, disagreeing. Ryou tends to take everything personally and sulk but Daiki isn’t going to change just like that overnight.

He tries calling Ryou in the evening but he doesn’t pick up – Aomine thinks he should be used to it by now but it still pisses him off. He doesn’t understand what’s Ryou’s problem, or why does he even  _care_ because, sure, he likes him a lot but not more than himself, right? That would be stupid. Still, he sends a text promising to show up to the next practice and grins stupidly when gets a reply. 

He’s still cranky though, because he doesn’t feel like going today either. But Ryou is humming happily as they eat his bento during lunch and Daiki feels sick from thinking about making him sad. This  _really_ pisses him off because what the hell. They usually pair up for stretching, mostly because everyone else is afraid that Aomine will break them in half, so he uses this opportunity to get back at Ryou.

He thinks it’s gonna be fun, grabbing Ryou’s knee and tickling it until he start apologizing and begging for forgiveness but, instead, Daiki takes a kick into the face and ends up sprawled on his back with a bleeding nose. Two Ryous hover over him with equally panicked expressions and Aomine wants to smack both of them as the rest of the team scrambles for towels, first aid kit and, worst of all, the coach.

Ryou finally become just one person again, and he keeps apologizing as he grabs Daiki’s face with shaking hands. He gently wipes the blood with his fingers before leaning down to pepper Aomine’s bruised face with kisses. Daiki should be angry - he should be furious - so decides he simply must have a concussion because what Ryou is doing is so nice Aomine almost doesn’t feel any pain at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Aomine had a bad day. Not only did he get his last test’s results and got scolded by Satsuki, who threatened Ryou with unspeakable things if he didn’t rat Daiki out (and it was still annoying that Ryou considered  _her_  more scary than him), but he was also forced to go to practice as a punishment. By the end of the day, sleep was basically the only thing on his mind.

He was heading home, minding his own business, determined not to get side-tracked, when he noticed a group of short, but rowdy, delinquents surrounding someone. Aomine shrugged, because it wasn’t his problem no matter how you looked at it, and kept walking – until he heard a familiar voice yelp, “I’m sorry!”

Daiki groaned, stopping in his tracks. Ryou. Why did he always had to get in some kind of trouble? What could a little scaredy-cat like him even do to offend a bunch of bullies? Not apologize for breathing the same air as them loud enough? On second thought, that seemed like a perfectly good reason for this sort of people.

Aomine considered his options. On one hand, there was a significant delay in his plans to sleep and dream of Mai-chan. On the other, saving Ryou could have positive consequences. First of all, he’d finally prove that he  _was_  scarier than Satsuki. Then, Ryou would owe him and that could mean less nagging in the future. Plus, heroes definitely got even tastier lunches as a reward, right?

He sighed, still displeased with being forced to take effort, but he walked over to the group. He put his hand on one of the kid’s shoulders and pulling him away from the circle. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the fact that Ryou managed to get himself bullied by what it looked like a bunch of middle-schoolers. Ryou’s eyes widened when they looked at each other.

“A-aomine-san!” he stammered in panic. “I’m sorry!”

“Oi, what do you want, you blueberry?!” shouted one of the kids, getting between Daiki and Ryou.

Blueberry?! Now this was  _personal._  “Get lost, punks, or I’ll deal with you myself.”

The bunch collectively scoffed, occasionally throwing some comments like, “You wish, geezer!” or “Why don’t  _you_  get lost?” Seriously, Aomine had to wonder what were their parents doing with their lives. Ryou tried to protest weekly, even attempting to drag one kid away, but what he got for his efforts was an accidental elbow to the solar plexus that had him stumbling backwards and landing right down on his ass.

The punks looked at Daiki like it was his fault, like he just broke their favorite toy, and before he knew it, they all pounced on him at once, knocking him down and, frankly, kicking the shit out of him. He managed to trip some of his assailants, by dishonorably grabbing their ankles, but those children were relentless and he was  _sure_  to have some bruises.

“Stop!” yelled Ryou suddenly.

Just like that, all movement ceased. The kids stepped off Aomine and made way for Ryou, who dropped to his knees to hover over Daiki with a worried expression.

“I’m so sorry, Aomine-san! I’m so sorry, are you alright?! Guys, why would you do that?! Oh, Aomine-san, say something… I’m so sorry!”

“Huh?” drawled one of the delinquents. “Is this blueberry your friend, Sakurai-san?”

“Yes! Now shoo! Give him some air! Go inside the store and buy some water!”

Bitching and whining, the group obediently went into the store and Aomine groaned as Ryou helped him sit up. “Holy shit, Ryou, are you some gang leader or something?!” he shouted, rubbing the bump on his head.

“I’m so sorry about them, Aomine-san!” yelped Ryou, blushing to the roots of his hair. “They’re just kids from my neighborhood. They came to pick me up to play basketball with me… I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding! Are you okay?”

Aomine whined, running his hand down his face. Well, that was it when it came to being a knight in shining armor. He thought he would save Ryou from bullies and got his shit kicked for his efforts – by middle-schoolers nonetheless, and that alone was embarrassing enough. Add to that his misplaced hero-complex and Daiki decided it was best to never leave his house again. Ryou helped him to his feet, still mumbling apologies deliriously.

“Did you think I was being bullied, Aomine-san? Ah, I’m sorry if it’s presumptuous of me, but I think you did? Thank you! That was very sweet of you, even if-”

“Oi, don’t get ahead of yourself!” snapped Aomine, beyond mortified at that point.

Ryou was going a very poor job of hiding his smile as he was apologizing and Daiki could feel his face heat up in embarrassment. He just stood there awkwardly, blushing and avoiding eye contact because it seemed like a good idea to save that little face he had left. Of course, because the universe apparently wasn’t done with torturing him, that’s when the obnoxious bunch spilled out of the store and immediately sensed the tense atmosphere, like the wild animals they were.

One of them pointed a finger at Daiki. “Hahaha, is blueberry blushing?! Haha, what a loser!”

Aomine Daiki had never run so fast in his life. 


	5. Chapter 5

“Just leave me  _alone,”_ seethed Aomine, narrowing his eyes at Ryou.

Sakurai flinched slightly but didn’t move from his spot. He knew Aomine-san didn’t really  _want_  to be left alone, no matter what he said. He knew Aomine was hurt and angry, and it might have been dangerous for Ryou to stay, but he wanted to offer comfort and soothe Aomine’s pain.

Sakurai knew very well how much Aomine-san cared about her, how much she meant to him; she’s been by his side all this time, a constant part of his life. Ryou bit his lip and put a tentative hand on Aomine’s shoulder, watching warily as Aomine’s jaw clenched.

“I’m so sorry, Aomine-san,” he said, his voice trembling.

“What am I going to do without her, Ryou?”

Sakurai almost whimpered at the broken sound of Aomine’s voice. He wanted to hug him, to cradle him in his arm until he stopped shaking. Aomine fumbled for his hand suddenly and squeezed it in his own, and Ryou allowed himself to wrap his body around Aomine-san’s back.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “No one had seen it coming, I’m so sorry.”

Aomine nodded stiffly as Sakurai continued to rub his arms. Eventually, he calmed down enough to take a deep breath and untangle himself from Ryou’s limbs. The way Aomine looked at him nearly broke Sakurai’s heart but he forced himself to stay composed for Aomine-san’s sake.

Aomine lifted his head to look up at the sky and sighed heavily. “I can’t believe Mai-chan retired…”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry

Aomine used to sleep like a log – there was little that could have woken him up, including the alarm clock. But ever since he started sleeping with Ryou more often, he became aware of him even as he slept. He stirred when Ryou shuffled in bed or woke up completely when he unconsciously tried to snuggle closer, and didn’t fall back asleep until he accommodated him in his arms.

The only really annoying thing about this was how little Daiki minded.

Other than that, Ryou was a rather quiet sleeper. He didn’t toss and turn like Wakamatsu, didn’t snore like Susa, didn’t mumble in his sleep like Imayoshi, and Aomine appreciated that. Losing bits of his sleep due to cuddling was one thing, but he wasn’t sure he would be so forgiving if Ryou was  _annoying_ the sleep out of him. In fact, he was certain he wouldn’t be. 

What he wasn’t prepared for in the slightest, was Ryou waking him up with moaning, and not the good kind either. Daiki was awake in a second, watching Ryou’s face twist as he mumbled frantic apologies – he was clearly having a nightmare.

Aomine remembered when he and Satsuki used to share a bed when they were children and what she did when he was the one to have nightmare. She was always too mature for her age, and when little Daiki was dreaming of monsters chasing him – like almost every other child his age, might he add – she was cooing him back to a peaceful sleep.

Aomine himself wasn’t good at being… gentle, soft, comforting. But as he watched Ryou’s pained features, he knew he had to at least  _try._ He wrapped his arms around Ryou’s waist, trying to pull him closer and calm him down somehow. But Ryou kept apologizing so desperately that Daiki had to shut his eyes; he couldn’t help hearing but he didn’t have to  _watch._

“Shh,” he tried awkwardly, putting his hand on Ryou’s shoulder. “C’mere…”

Perhaps he should have, in hindsight. Maybe then he would see the elbow coming straight for his face. Aomine wasn’t sure if he first felt the pain or heard the bones in his nose cracking. He howled, startling Ryou awake, and rolled over on his back, covering his bleeding face with his hands.

“Oh, fuck,” he sobbed. “Oh,  _fuck!_ ”

“Aomine-san!” shouted Ryou in panic, fumbling to look at Daiki. “I’m so sorry! Oh God, did I do that? I’m so sorry!!! Aomine-san!”

“How many times has it been already!” whined Aomine nasally. “Do you  _like_  me ugly?!”

If Ryou wasn’t busy having a heart attack, he’d probably say something cheesy about liking Daiki in every way, no matter what – like he usually did when he unintentionally injured him with the sharp edges of his skinny body.

“I’m so sorry, Aomine-san! But you shouldn’t have touched me!”

“You were having a  _nightmare!_ ” accused Aomine. “What else was I supposed to do?!”

“It wasn’t a nightmare, I’m sorry! I was killing ninjas!”

Daiki dropped his hands from his face then, so Ryou could see the utter shock and outrage donning his features. Ryou promptly used his own shirt to gently wipe the blood, mumbling apologies all the while. Aomine grabbed his wrist, squeezing to get Ryou to look him in the eyes.

“You apologize to the people you’re killing in your dreams?” he seethed.

Ryou yelped hiding his face behind his hands. “I’m sorry!!!”


	7. Chapter 7

There was never really any question about Momoi living with Aomine and Sakurai after graduation. She could have her peace of mind and continue her mother-henning to her heart’s content, and the boys got to live to see yet another day without hurting themselves in one way or another.

They had a good system – Sakurai was in charge of the kitchen, Momoi took care of the home budget, and bullied Aomine into cleaning the house. All things considered, they ended up fending rather well for themselves and managed to avoid any major disasters for the first few months of living alone. Except that one time Aomine sucked an entire curtain into the vacuum cleaner and it caught fire.

But then, Sakurai got sick. Confined to bed with a fever of nearly forty degrees, he slept through most of the Saturday. He refused to sleep in the bed with Aomine and insisted on staying on the couch, but Aomine wouldn’t have any of it.

“Idiots can’t catch colds,” he said, and Sakurai was delirious enough to believe him.

He woke up in the evening in an empty bed, to suspicious sounds coming from  _his_  kitchen. Miraculously, he managed to drag himself out of the bed and out of the room, just to nearly collapse at the sight of Aomine and Momoi standing over the stove, bickering.

“Are.. are you cooking?” he tried, coughing. “I’m sorry, but, please, stop immediately…”

Momoi giggled. “Don’t worry, we ordered pizza~! I have already accepted that, despite having many talents, I don’t belong in the kitchen.”

“I’m relieved,” said Sakurai with a sigh. “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Oi, ugly, don’t get distracted,” chided Aomine suddenly, startling Sakurai. “And you, go back to bed.”

Momoi clicked her tongue and pinched her friend’s side before turning back to the stove. Sakurai fixed the blanket around himself and frowned, confused by Aomine’s apparent grumpiness. From what Sakurai could see from where he stood, Aomine looked flushed, and Sakurai was worried that he  _had_ caught his cold after all and now was upset with him.

“May I ask what you’re doing?”

Aomine grumbled. “Nothing we can’t handle. I told you to go back to bed.”

“Don’t mind him, Sakurai-kun,” said Momoi teasingly. “Dai-chan is just embarrassed~! He wanted to make you a miso soup, for your cold.”

Sakurai’s eyes widened as he watched Aomine’s back tense. He could hear him mutter something under his breath as Momoi laughed at him unabashedly, and it made his entire body tingle pleasantly with warmth. He smiled and walked slowly into the kitchen, smiling at Momoi as she winked at him.

He wrapped his arms, along with the blanket, around Aomine’s middle and rested his head on his back. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Stupid, don’t apologize for being sick,” muttered Aomine, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand awkwardly. “Now let go, I’m gonna burn it.”

Sakurai smiled against his back and tightened his hold, squirming to get closer, even if it was physically impossible. Strangely, he was warm and comfortable and didn’t feel sick at all. Suddenly, Momoi whined theatrically, pouting.

“Not fair, I want a hug too~!” she demanded, stepping closer.

Sakurai chuckled at her attempts to wriggle between them, and helped her by raising one of his arms and wrapping it around her shoulders. They both giggled as Aomine cursed and grumbled, trying to shake them off. Sakurai would be perfectly content to stay like that forever, but at some point, true to his words, Aomine did burn the miso soup. 


	8. Chapter 8

Aomine Daiki never cared much about things other than basketball and his best friend, Satsuki. But, as easily he lost interest in certain things, he was still a curious child. Thus, when he saw a scrawny little boy with eyes big as basketballs trying to take his kite off a tree, Daiki stopped and watched. 

The boy was constantly mumbling something, either to the tree, or to the kite, as he kept jumping uselessly, flailing his skinny arms. Eventually, as he was landing, his leg slipped and he landed on his back with a soft thud that made Daiki wince even before he heard the kid burst into tears. 

He walked over as the boy sniffled, rubbing his red elbows. Daiki had no idea why he approached the boy, quicly realizing he didn’t know what to say. If it were Satsu, he’d tell her to stop being a big, ugly crybaby, but this boy seemed different.

"Does that hurt? It looks like it hurts."

It sounded weird to Daiki’s ears, but the boy only nodded in slight shock, apologizing softly.

"Do you want me to get your kite?"

The boy nodded again, and watched in awe as Daiki climbed the tree and delivered the toy unscathed. He grinned widely in relief as the kite was back in his hands, and before Daiki could protest, he threw his small arms around Daiki’s neck and hugged him, just like Satsuki always did.

Daiki must have made some weird noise, because the boy jumped off him like he was burned and stepped away, bowing.

"I’m sorry!" he squeaked, and ran off, leaving Daiki confused and a little bit dazed. 


	9. Chapter 9

Aomine and Sakurai’s first date was, first of all, very memorable. Not because it was everything they could hope for, and more - with a romantic candle-lit dinner and walking on the moonlit beach. No, it was memorable because everything that could have gone wrong, did.

Aomine had never had any qualms about voicing his opinions, especially when he was annoyed. Despite Sakurai’s futile attempts to calm him down, his rowdy behavior soon caught the attention of one of the waiters.

"Ah, I’m sorry to bother you!" yelped Sakurai. "We’re fine!"

Aomine gaped at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?! We are not  _fine!_ We’ve been sanding here for twenty minutes waiting for a table and no one even bothered to come and tell us to get lost!”

The waiter shrugged. “Well then, get lost.”

Aomine punched the guy and they got thrown out on the street, as simple as that. They ended up in the nearest Majibu, eating mediocre fries and sipping on a too-sweet milkshakes. In Aomine’s opinion, the date simply couldn’t have gone any worse, but Sakurai was smiling for some reason.

"What’s your damage?" muttered Aomine, stuffing his face with fries. 

"Ah, I’m sorry! I know it’s not exactly ideal but… Aomine san punched someone for my sake so I’m happy! I’m sorry!"

Sakurai hid his burning face in his hands and laid his head on the table. Aomine was grateful for that, because he couldn’t see the fries falling out of his gaping mouth as his face got even more red than the seats in the diner.


	10. Chapter 10

Satsuki was, unsurprisingly, absolutely furious with him when he told her he had lost his wallet. She paid, of course, but Aomine’s coffee tasted even more bitter than usually, due to her constant nagging.

“Are you sure you lost it? Maybe it’s been stolen?”

Daiki huffed. “I think I would remember being mugged, ugly. And I don’t remember being mugged.”

“What  _do_  you remember?”

Aomine shrugged. He didn’t remember being mugged, that’s what mattered. The rest was completely irrelevant to Satsuki’s interest. What was he supposed to say? Take her down the memory lane and relate every second of his morning? How long he jerked off in the shower, what he had for breakfast, and how long it took him to find a clean t-shirt?

He couldn’t even remember running into anyone after leaving home. Except that one guy who jumped right in front of him on the sidewalk, almost making Daiki topple over him. And he decidedly didn’t want to talk about  _that_  encounter.

Skinny little thing had eyes so big Aomine couldn’t help but stare for a moment. He  _apologized_ , making about zero sense until he grabbed Daiki by the hips, pushed their bodies flush together, and kissed him. And the reason Aomine didn’t want to talk about it was because he probably fell a little in love right then, and because he  _definitely_  whimpered as the guy pulled away and bit his red lips, apologizing once again before disappearing.

He couldn’t recall ever being kissed liked that. Maybe because he mostly kissed girls, or maybe because he hadn’t had that many kisses in his twenty years of life. Or maybe it was the way one of those bony hands raked up his side, pressing bruises into his ribs with a quite surprising strength, before moving to scratch at his chest, dangerously close (not close enough) to Daiki’s nipple. Maybe it was that appreciative sound the guy made into Aomine’s mouth as he pawed at his ass with his other hand.

Daiki couldn’t help but blush at the memory, because he never pegged himself for someone who liked having their butt touched. But almost instantly, the pleasant tingling in his body was replaced by the cold feeling of dread. He realized, eyes widening, that he always kept his  _wallet_  in the back pocket of his pants.

He instantly felt sick when it finally dawned on him that the fucking thief wasn’t after his ass but what was between it and his thievish fucking hand.

Satsuki whined when she saw his expression, dropping her head on the table. “Oh, Dai-chan… What happened?”

“Nothing,” he snapped angrily, because he couldn’t possibly confess. “I’m going home. Thanks for the coffee.”

Of course, she called after him, and he could feel his phone vibrating in his jacket, undoubtedly with pissy messages from her. He should probably go to the nearest police station but he was too humiliated. Going straight home and hanging himself on his shoelaces seemed like a much better idea. He probably wouldn’t have, after giving it some thought, even if he hadn’t have found his wallet stuck into his mailbox, with a little post-it-note where his money used to be. “I’m sorry,” it read and had a tiny, clearly distressed face of his mugger drawn on it.

Aomine crumpled it in his fist, obviously, too angry to appreciate the gesture of good will. But when he found a home-made bento on his doorstep the next morning, he smirked and, for some reason, didn’t throw it away.

Then he cried, because it was  _that_  good.


	11. Chapter 11

Ryou always felt responsible for making sure Aomine-san got to practice, not only because Momoi-san often  _made_  him responsible for that. They were classmates and Ryou liked to believe Aomine-san hated him the least. That’s why he never thought twice about going out of his way and trying to convince Aomine-san to come to practice.

Usually, all of Ryou’s attempts failed, obviously – Aomine-san either completely ignored him, pretending he was deep asleep, or very effectively scared him off, reminding Ryou that nothing Momoi-san could possibly do to him could compare to what Aomine-san was capable of. Perhaps Ryou was an idiot, but it never stopped him from trying.

The rooftop was Aomine-san’s turf where Ryou wasn’t welcome, and it was nearly impossible to achieve anything there. So when Ryou caught Aomine-san in the bathroom right practice, he felt hope – a neutral territory could tip the scales and, perhaps, Aomine-san would finally agree to attend the practice. Ryou immediately started pleading, reasoning, even threatening, and Aomine-san looked half bored, half-amused.

“Make me,” he muttered, smug and cocky, like he was everything in the world that mattered and more. And maybe a part of Ryou kind of agreed with that, a deeply-hidden, powerless and voiceless part he refused to even acknowledge. Because, basically, he was just a teenage boy who watched too much cheap TV and what he did in that moment was nothing more than a result of those two combined factors.

He grabbed Aomine-san’s tie and pulled him down, standing on his tiptoes at the same time, and kissed him. Just an innocent enough brush of lips, mostly awkward, considering the fact that Ryou’s lips formed a scowl and Aomine-san was gaping incredulously. It wasn’t world-shattering, or even particularly nice, but Ryou’s heart was beating like crazy as he took his shaking hands off Aomine-san’s still chest.

One look at Aomine-san, after he stepped away, was all Ryou needed to realize that it was  _not_  what he anticipated,  _not_  what he wanted at all. For someone who reacted impulsively to absolutely everything – including, but not limited to, sudden changes to the school cafeteria’s menu – Aomine-san was too silent to be anything but completely and utterly shocked. The apology died on Ryou’s lips, refusing to leave his impossibly tight throat, and he burst out of the bathroom without a word, leaving stunned Aomine-san behind.

At the very least, practice was the safest Ryou could possibly be. He couldn’t make a single shot, granted, but at least it was the last place Aomine-san would never visit on his way to murder Ryou. Luckily, Ryou had another evening to live and wouldn’t die before his first class the next morning. Or that’s what he thought until he left the club room and saw Aomine-san waiting for him, wearing the angriest and most confused expression Ryou’s ever seen on him.

Ryou immediately bolted in the opposite direction, obviously, but Aomine-san was fast, faster than him, and before Ryou knew it, Aomine-san was crowding him against the wall. He towered over him in all his menacing glory, while Ryou shielded his head with his arm, choking on apologies. Aomine-san wrestled Ryou’s arm, pinning them to his sides and stared so intently that Ryou’s entire face grew so hot he briefly hoped it would actually  _melt_  and grant him a mercy kill.

“Why did you do that?” asked Aomine-san, oddly quiet and definitely more disoriented than furious, and Ryou could only shake his head frantically, unable to answer. Why, indeed? Because that was what they did in the movies? Because he followed a stupid, hormonal impulse? Because he had wanted to do that for almost a year? None of these answers would spare his life, but the last one would certainly quicken his end. Ryou was stupid to place his feelings in the lazy, breast-loving, cruel Aomine-san, and now he had to pay the price.

“Please let me go, I’m sorry, I swear I won’t do it again, just forget about it, Aomine-san, I’m so sorry, please, let go of me-” Ryou rambled, eyes closed, chest aching, on the verge of tears. Aomine-san grabbed his chin and forced their eyes to meet. The tips of his ears were pink, and he did not looked pleased about it at all, and Ryou couldn’t help but gulp. Then, Aomine-san leaned in – a jerky, aborted movement that startled them both, but mostly Ryou, who strained against Aomine-san’s hold on his forearms.

“Make me,” he said slowly, deliberately, eyes never leaving Ryou’s face. Ryou’s breath hitched in his throat and that stupid, hormonal impulse from before punched him right in the gut, amplified by the desire to do that again - to kiss Aomine-san now that he knew what it was like, that he knew it could be better, if more coordinated and consensual. So he stepped further into Aomine-san’s personal space, jerking his arms free and wrapping them around his partner’s neck before sealing their mouths together.

Even if it was slightly better than their first, it was still pretty bad, but maybe that was a kind of practice Aomine-san would be less willing to skip.


	12. Chapter 12

Ryou knew that Aomine was rarely asleep before 1am (hence the frequent naps during the day) but he still felt guilty for calling him, almost as much as he was desperate. In all honesty, he wasn’t expecting any help – he simply panicked and his first instinct was to dial Aomine-san’s number. He was so stressed he couldn’t even remember talking until he heard Aomine-san’s voice repeat his words; not exactly angry, but certainly tired.

“The deadline is tomorrow and you’re all out of ink.”

When Ryou realized how completely inappropriate and ridiculous it was to call him, he blurted out an apology and abruptly ended the call. Hiding his face in his hands, he ignored all the three calls that followed. Aomine-san probably wanted to yell at him, scold him for being a bother and wasting his time, Ryou knew. They weren’t even friends – they were just classmates and teammates – so Ryou had no right to call him in the middle of the night.

Ryou really liked and admired Aomine-san, of course, but he doubted that the feelings were mutual. Aomine enjoyed Ryou’s cooking and, perhaps, acknowledged his basketball skills, but that was about it. Ryou must have seemed really annoying most of the time, let alone at the moment. What was he _thinking,_  dumping his stupid problems on someone who couldn’t care less about his stupid art contest. What did he even expect to happen?

Ryou had no idea how much time he spent uselessly staring at his unfinished piece (half an hour, more?), wondering if it was enough to even be  _accepted_. Taking everything into account, Ryou’s situation was hopeless – he had no car, not even a bike, and the closest store that could solve his problems was an hour away, and  _closed._  He briefly considered waking up his parents and asking for help, but he didn’t want to disturb the few hours of rest they allowed themselves.

He was about to tear up his piece and cry himself to sleep, when he received a text from Aomine-san, ordering him to come outside. With his heart about to hammer out of his chest, Ryou sneaked past his parents’ bedroom to the front door and opened it cautiously. Aomine-san was scowling, clearly inconvenienced, and held out a small bag for Ryou to take. There was a bottle of ink inside and Ryou’s breath caught in his throat, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Turned out I had some lying around,” mumbled Aomine-san awkwardly. “I expect a special bento tomorrow in return.”

Ryou beamed, overwhelmed with gratitude. “Yes! Of course! I’m sorry! Thank you  _so much!_  I’m so sorry!!!”

Aomine-san nodded stiffly, visibly uncomfortable with Ryou’s emotional reaction, and wordlessly turned around to leave. Ryou wanted to call after him before he remembered the hour and closed the door, going back to his room to finish the work. It was only then that he realized the bottle of ink was new and still unopened, the price tag scrapped off messily. Choking on a shocked gasp, he immediately reached for his phone to thank Aomine-san properly.

He stopped himself, unsure how to express the true extent of his gratitude. In all probability, Aomine-san would be nothing but embarrassed by any words Ryou could come up with, and he didn’t want to cause him any distress. He had to thank him in a way that Aomine-san appreciated and understood – he could make a bento so good it would bring tears of delight to his eyes. He could prove he was worth the effort Aomine-san made on his behalf and win the first prize.


	13. Chapter 13

Furihata felt like a third wheel – what was he even doing here? He should have gone looking for his other classmates as soon as Touou’s Aomine and Sakurai joined them. Even if he was more or less used to feeling kind of left out while hanging out with Kuroko and Kagami, nothing could compare to crashing this double date.

But it was too late to run now, after Kagami specifically asked him to go to Majibu with them later. Clutching at the stuffed bunny that he miraculously managed to fish out despite his hands shaking from sheer mortification caused by the constant giggles and whispers coming from behind his back, Furihata prayed for something,  _anything,_  to save him.

It was just so horribly awkward. Instead of actually interacting with him, Kuroko and Kagami were playing with their stuffed toys, in their own weird brand of public display of affection. Furi couldn’t even watch this, looking at his own bunny in horror and wondering if he would ever look at stuffed animals the same way.

From lack of anything better to do, he decided to observe Aomine’s rather sad attempts at fishing out a bunny similar to Furihata’s own. So far, he managed to get a cat, a raccoon, two mushrooms, and a god with glasses. Next to him, Sakurai kept apologizing for ever mentioning wanting a bunny and begged Aomine to give up.

“I’m getting you a damned bunny, I won’t let this stupid machine beat me!”

Furi sighed; it was kind of romantic when he thought about it – in a weird, very angry, competitive way. Sakurai must have thought so too, because he blushed and ducked his head, apologizing softly. Furihata watched Aomine aim for the bunny once again, only to end up with a lion, which caused him to kick the machine and Kagami to groan impatiently.

“We’re going, Ahomine! He doesn’t even want the rabbit anymore, and I’m hungry!”

“Kagami-kun, so insensitive,” chided Kuroko, causing Sakurai to start apologizing frantically.

Aomine cursed under his breath. “Fine. Go on ahead, I’m gonna try one more time. I’ll catch up.”

Kuroko and Kagami looked at him suspiciously but eventually shrugged and started walking. Sakurai lingered for a moment, staring at Aomine with huge, simultaneously spooked and love-struck eyes, and Furi puked in his mouth a little. Aomine waved him off and Sakurai finally followed the other pair reluctantly. For some reason, Furihata waited.

“Does Sakurai-kun like bunnies so much?” he asked softly.

“Jesus!” gasped Aomine, startled. “You spend too much time with Tetsu! What are you still doing here?”

Furi shrugged, nervously avoiding eye-contact. “Just curious, I guess.”

Aomine didn’t reply, completely focused on the task at hand. Despite himself, Furihata found himself silently cheering on him – determination in a seemingly hopeless situation was something he could related to. He let out an audible gasp of disappointment when Aomine once again came out empty-handed, looking like he wanted to set the machine on fire.

“Shit, I don’t have any more change. Lend me some, Chihuahua-kun.”

Furi blushed, embarrassed by the nickname, and automatically reached into his pocket. He stopped when he heard Aomine’s stomach rumble, which he immediately tried to hide behind an coughing fit. Due to a temporary lapse of judgment, or maybe in a miraculous spur of bravery, instead of the money, he pushed his stuffed bunny into Aomine’s hands.

“I wanna trade! Honestly, I actually wanted a lion, not a rabbit! Please, trade with me!”

Aomine stared at him through narrowed eyes for a while, but he eventually reached out slowly and accepted the toy, nodding once awkwardly. Furi grinned in relief and grabbed the stuffed lion, making sure he looked especially happy while doing it. Aomine was still following him with his eyes warily for a moment, but he suddenly just up and left.

Furi blinked in confusion. “Eh? Aomine-kun? What about the rest of the toys?! What am I supposed to do with them?! Aomine-kun…? Anyone…? Help…” 


	14. Chapter 14

It wasn’t unusual for Aomine to just show up at Ryou’s doorstep in the middle of the night, which maybe wasn’t the most considerate but sometimes necessary if they wanted to see each other at all. Even though neither of them had left Tokyo after graduation, it felt like they were in a long-distance relationship, with Ryou going to university and Daiki making the first string in the national team.

Luckily, Ryou’s roommate was a party animal – or maybe even dead, considering they literally never saw him, who cared – so it wasn’t a problem to sneak past the avid basketball fan of a security guard and just spend the night in Ryou’s room. Mostly, they just slept on the tiny bed, too tired to even talk, let alone do anything more, then went out for breakfast and went their separate ways.

Weekends were good because Aomine got those off in exchange for actually coming to practice for the rest of the week. They were good because he got laid on weekends. But they were also good because he ate something else than instant noodles and got to sleep for as long as he wanted on the bony body pillow while Ryou read or studied. He got to spend two sappy days with his boyfriend.

Also, he got laid.

Of course, there were the game nights, and the weekends that Daiki was on the other side of the country, or even the world; that happened too. Ryou obviously never fussed or complained, never even called, out of fear he would be a bother – that didn’t change about him – and they didn’t fall asleep listening to each other breathe or anything gross like that, but they managed.

Not that Aomine couldn’t appreciate a little variety, but he was surprised, to say the least, when Ryou was the one to call him in the middle of one of those nights. At first, he thought Ryou just wanted to congratulate him on the victory, or maybe berate him about that interview right after the game, but when he picked up, he heard a giggle and a snort that could mean only one thing.

“How drunk are you right now?” he asked upfront, laughing.

Ryou was a hilarious drunk – it was like his self-blaming side stepped aside to make room for that competitive, prissy asshole that used to come out only during basketball games. Daiki wasn’t expecting an apology for waking him up, but a simple courtesy greeting wouldn’t hurt. What he got instead was a low moan that chilled his blood for a second before instantly setting it on fire.

“Fuck,” rasped Aomine, immediately fumbling to put his hand down his pants. “Yeah-”

“Aomine-san,” purred Ryou, sending a shiver down Daiki’s spine. “You wouldn’t believe how good this strawberry sorbet is… Who even bring this stuff to parties?! God, it’s so good~!”

Aomine completely froze. “Are you fucking serious?! You’re calling me to- I fucking can’t believe you!”

Daiki could hear Ryou lick his fingers shamelessly and briefly considered _not_ removing his hand from his underwear. But then his boyfriend made a very unattractive gurgling noise that was probably supposed to be laughter, and Aomine stopped feeling like it, amazingly enough. Groaning, he turned to the side and rubbed his eyes, listening to the background noise in the phone; they were playing really shitty music, that much he could tell.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” gasped Ryou eventually, his usual self peeking out. “Are you upset I woke you up? I’m sorry, I really am… But I miss you, Aomine-san… Don’t you miss me?”

“Fucking make up your mind, you drunk…” muttered Aomine, unable to hold back an exasperated chuckle. “Yeah, fine, whatever,  I miss you.”

“How much,” cooed Ryou, giggling again.

Daiki rolled his eyes, not bothering to stifle a yawn. “Don’t start what you can’t finish… So what’s up? Did you watch the game?”

“Of course! You were amazing, Aomine-san! Oh! I remembered who brought the sorbet! Muro- Mura- Murasakibara-kun! I will have to thank him! It was _so_ good…”

Aomine frowned. “What are you doing on a party with that guy.”

“Oh! We- we got together to watch the game. And now we’re celebrating! Yay!”

“I should have fucking known by the shitty music Kise was there…”

Ryou laughed.  “Kise-kun cried at the end, he was so proud of you, Aomine-san...”

“God, you lot sure are embarrassing,” mumbled Daiki, cringing. “You got anyone to take you home? It better not be Kagami. I don’t trust him around you. You two… _bond_ too much.”

“Awww, you’re so cute when you’re jealous, Aomine-san~!”

Aomine growled, blushing involuntarily. He supposed he could forgive Ryou this one time, considering the guy was drunk off his ass, and there was no physical way to hurt him for it anyway. Suddenly, Ryou hummed softly and the background noise got quieter, indicating he moved to a different room. Daiki yawned again, unable to stop himself, but he had every right to be dead tired.

“I’m sorry for waking you, Aomine-san,” said Ryou sincerely. “You should go back to sleep. Wakamatsu-san will walk me home.”

“He’s even worse,” mumbled Aomine into his pillow. “Take Kagami…”

“Alright,” said Ryou and Daiki could hear a smile in his voice despite his sleepiness. “Good night, Aomine-san. See you soon.”

“Yeah. I’ll be home soon.”


	15. Chapter 15

So yeah, Aomine was kind of lost. All the buildings looked the same and he was never going to forgive Satsuki for not picking him up at the station,  _or_ moving to this city in the first place. She told him to turn right after he’s left the station and he’d find his way to the convenience store where she was going to wait, but that was a  _lie._

He started following some guy as soon as spotted him, hoping he’d lead him to civilization. He kept a safe distance, of course – he didn’t want to be forced to talk to him or something. But the guy just kept walking and walking and there was no civilization, and Aomine wondered if maybe that wasn’t the stranger’s destination after all.

His suspicions seemed to be confirmed when the guy abruptly turned into an alley that led who knows where. Afraid he’d never reach Satsuki if he didn’t ask the only person he’s seen so far in this god forsaken place for directions, Aomine sped up to catch up to him. As soon as he entered of the alley, he got kicked in the balls and when he keened with a howl, the guy he’d been following fucking pepper sprayed him.

“Oh, fuck, what the fuck, what did I do to you, fuck, it fucking hurts!!!”

“Stay away from me!” yelled the guy, and if Aomine could even open his eyes, he’d probably see him wielding the fucking spray like a weapon. “I’m calling the police!”

Aomine groaned, rubbing his eyes, which only seemed to make it worse. “God, yeah, great idea, maybe they can give me some  _fucking directions!_  Fuck, it stings…”

“Oh god,” they guy yelped, terrified. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! I thought- I’m sorry! I thought you were a stalker! I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Aomine grunted in disbelief. “Oh, you thought- You thought I was a stalker, great. Must be a day ending in y… God, it fucking hurts. Do something!”

The guy was instantly by his side, his thin fingers fumbling to pry Aomine’s own off his face. “Don’t rub it in, you need to wash it. I am so sorry, I’m so sorry! I’m gonna take you to my place, okay, it’s right here. Can you get up? I am so sorry…”

“Stop, apologizing, just- Ugh, help me get up.”

The guy immediately helped him to his feet. He was surprisingly strong for someone who looked so skinny, not that Aomine was looking particularly hard when he was following him. He smelled like paint and Aomine wondered if he could tell because his nose was compensating the lack of eyesight or the guy was just rolling around in it. They managed to get into the house, not that Aomine could tell for sure, but it was suddenly warmer and it smelled like soy sauce.

“Let’s get you to the bathroom,” the man said and he had a really nice voice when he wasn’t yelling. “I’m so sorry…”

Aomine didn’t dignify that with an answer, he just let the guy take care of him in complete silence. When he could finally open his eyes, they guy’s round, pretty face filled his vision. Aomine blushed involuntarily when they guy smiled at him in relief and closed his eyes, cursing inwardly immediately after. Did he seriously just think about the person who had attacked him that he was attractive? Was he already developing a Stockholm syndrome?

“My name is Sakurai Ryou, in case you want to press charges…”

Aomine rolled his eyes. “It won’t do me any good, I’m not even from around here. I just came down here for a couple of weeks and I wanna find the damn convenience store, that’s all…”

Ryou sighed in relief. “Thank you so much. I’m a teacher, you see. Wouldn’t look too good.”

“Art?”

“How did you know?!” yelped Ryou, immediately stepping back. “You said you weren’t a stalker!”

Aomine laughed. “And it was pretty stupid of you to just take my word for it, but I’m not, relax. You smell like paint, it was just a guess.”

“Oh,” said Ryou, blushing but visibly relaxing. “Are you okay now? Do you want me to take you to the store? Or, if you don’t want to, which I completely understand, I could draw you a map. It’s not far away. Did I say I was sorry already?”

“Only a billion times. It’s fine.” It really wasn’t but, somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to say that to Ryou. “Yeah, you can walk me. You can’t trust me with maps.”

Ryou beamed at him, and Aomine wished he was blind again. They walked in somewhat awkward but not entirely uncomfortable silence and they reached the convenience store in barely ten minutes. Satsuki was already waiting for him outside, her arms crossed on her chest, her foot tapping the sidewalk impatiently. She charged as soon as she noticed them and Aomine swallowed, turning to Ryou.

“This is gonna be ugly. You don’t wanna watch this.”

Sakurai blinked at him in confusion. “Your girlfriend?”

“God, no! She’s my  _sister!_  Gross, man!”

“Oh.”

Aomine felt his cheeks growing hot because of the blatant relief audible in Ryou’s voice. They stood there, awkwardly, waiting for Satsuki to reach them. Aomine shuddered involuntarily at the mean smirk she offered him from a distance and Ryou smiled, dropping his eyes to his feet.

“Well, I’d better go. See you around, stranger.”

“Aomine,” he blurted out, realized he hadn’t introduced himself earlier. “My name is Aomine.”

Ryou nodded, his eyes suddenly widening in horror, and Aomine was confused only for a second before Satsuki landed a punch on his arm.

“I called seventeen times, Dai-chan! Seventeen times! What the hell happened?!”

Aomine winced, rubbing his arm. “I got lost and he pepper sprayed me?”

“I’m sorry,” mumbled Ryou, blushing to the tips of his ears.

Satsuki sighed, rubbing her temple. “Oh. Oh, I see. You got lost and he pepper sprayed you. Must be a day ending in y…”

“That’s what I said.”

Satsuki snorted and her face softened into fondness. She opened her arms and when Aomine refused to step into them, embarrassed, she stomped on his foot, wrapping her arms around his neck as he keened with a grunt. Aomine whined and scowled when she pulled away and tenderly stroked the sore skin under his eyes.

“Poor Dai-chan… That’s what you get for being an idiot…”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault!”

“It really wasn’t!” protested Ryou, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry!”

Satsuki sighed again, silently regarding both of them for a while. She must have deduced something from their body language or whatever – he had never learned the secrets of her freak super power – because she smirked slyly, wrapping her arm around Ryou’s shoulders. She probably thought she looked cool, but she just looked ridiculous, uncomfortably bent due to the height difference between them. Aomine snorted and she sent him a death glare before turning back to Ryou.

“Well. If you really do feel responsible and want to make it up to him, how about showing him around sometime? I am so busy these days, especially in the evenings~”

“Oi, ugly! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Aomine wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole; he wasn’t sure whose face was redder, his or Ryou’s. Satsuki ignored him, staring intently at Ryou who, clearly intimidated, nodded shakily. She beamed at him and patted his chest lightly before finally releasing him, and Aomine wanted to strangle her for looking so pleased with herself.

“Great, it’s a date then~!”

Aomine couldn’t check out Ryou’s reaction to that disaster even if he wanted to, because Satsuki unceremoniously pushed his back, almost making him stumble and fall. Groaning and gritting his teeth, he decided he’d been humiliated enough for one day, so he just went along without a fuss.


	16. Chapter 16

The first time Daiki experienced that weird feeling of being exposed, he pinned it on the discomfort caused by showing up to practice after such long absence. He felt like everyone was watching him, judging, and it took every bit of impulse control not to punch anyone who dared to meet his eye. But it sometimes happened in classroom too, and Aomine had substantially less possible explanations for that.

Soon, he narrowed the source of the distressing feeling to one person, who was both his teammate and his classmate, but no thanks to his brilliant deduction. He realized it was Ryou that has been making him feel naked all this time when they were the only ones left in the locker room and Daiki suddenly felt his neck grow hot with the already familiar sensation.

Turning around with horrid realization, he covered his chest like a girl and squawked indignantly, hoping to convey his outrage to Ryou. But the guy in question was just innocently sitting on the bench, looking in Aomine’s general direction with an absentminded, almost empty expression, before distractedly shifting his gaze to his face and frowning in confusion.

“What are you doing?!” demanded Daiki, his voice skyrocketing embarrassingly.

Ryou blinked slowly. “Eh? I’m not doing anything… I’m just waiting for Aomine-san so I can lock up. Oh, do you want me to go? I’m sorry! I’ll wait outside! I’m so sorry!”

Before Aomine could tell him to stop playing dumb, Ryou was already out, leaving Daiki feeling even more violated and confused than before.

Admittedly, he became a little paranoid after that. He started feeling self-conscious whenever he occupied the same space as Ryou, which was definitely too often for comfort. He couldn’t even lift his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face without suddenly panicking and frantically looking around to make sure Ryou wasn’t ogling him like a piece of meat. His disarrayed state of mind was obviously reflected in his play, and before long, Satsuki cornered him in all her righteous fury.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Dai-chan?!” she demanded, arms crossed on her chest.

“It’s Ryou,” muttered Aomine reluctantly. “He- He’s  _undressing_  me with his eyes, okay? I can’t take this!”

Satsuki frowned in confusion. “Sakurai-kun? Are you sure he’s not just hungry or something? Why would he mentally undress  _you?_ ”

“Oi, I’m  _hot,_  okay?!” he protested, flushing.

“Uh-uh, sure you are,” she drawled. “Well, tell him to stop if it bothers you. I can’t have you all distracted like that.”

“I don’t think he knows he’s doing it…” said Daiki, scratching his cheek awkwardly.

“Enlighten him, then,” she suggested coldly, before grinning slyly. “Unless… you’re enjoying it?”

He didn’t. There was no way he did. It wasn’t flattering at all. He said as much, or at least  _communicated_  through his indignant spluttering that left Satsuki all in giggles and only aggravated him more. He definitely didn’t  _want_  Ryou’s surprisingly lecherous attention directed at him, and Satsuki was stupid.

But the witch has planted the seed of curiosity – Aomine stopped seeing Ryou as a menace and started looking at him as someone interested in him, like, sexually or something, which was even more mortifying. He felt himself flush with something more than discomfort whenever Ryou did the thing, which was probably the most horrible thing that could possible happen to him.

He wasn’t  _coy,_  alright? He was the opposite of coy, okay, he was bold and daring, cheeky even. He wondered if Ryou would be so collected if  _he_  was the one being mentally undressed whenever he appeared in vicinity. Aomine bet _not_  and seriously considered giving Ryou the taste of his own medicine, just out of spite.

Pretending to take a break to hydrate, he positioned himself near Ryou and unceremoniously started staring. It wasn’t like he’s never seen him at least half-naked, so it wasn’t rocket science to remember the angles of his scrawny body. Admittedly, he had nice shoulders – slender and narrow, but strong – and the pale expanse of his back was also pretty nice to look at.

Before he knew what was happening, Daiki’s mind started to  _wander_  as he looked at Ryou’s shooting form with unseeing eyes. He was snapped out of his daze by Ryou’s shot missing spectacularly with a ruckus, as the shooter turned around stiffly, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest, and gaped at Aomine in terror.

“A-aomine-san? What are you doing?”

Daiki swallowed, instantly blushing. Well, crap.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aomine x sakurai x momoi

Before, when Momoi imagined a camping trip with her boyfriend, she expected a few things to play out differently. Perhaps she was just naive then, wishing for a romantic spree with Tetsu-kun (who somehow always seemed taller in her head than in reality), away from civilization and the prying eyes of their friends. In her fantasies, she never accounted for awfully mundane, and decidedly _un_ romantic things, like pine needles, mosquitos, and sand _everywhere_. And she definitely didn’t expect to end up in hell with Aomine and Sakurai, who only made it even worse to bare.

She loved them both, really, but they were completely useless.

It was sad enough to watch them try and set up camp, with Aomine-kun actively _fighting_ with the tent, going as far as to insult its mother, and Sakurai-kun standing there awkwardly, apologizing to ever pine cone that fell on his head, but the most depressing part was when Satsuki finally set up the tent herself and it turned out to be too small, just like she predicted.

“We’ll just take turns fooling around,” decided Aomine offhandedly. “You always ignore me the most when it’s all three of us anyway.”

Momoi rolled her eyes, because that was just _not_ true. “That’s nice and all, Dai-chan, but how are we going to _sleep?_ ”

“I’m sorry, I’ll sleep outside,” offered Sakurai shakily, making them both groan in frustration. “I’m sorry for suggesting it!”

Satsuki sighed, rubbing her temple with one hand, and swatting away the bugs with the other. She eventually decided to cross the bridge when they came to it, and relieve some trip-related stress by going for a swim, which was met with varying degrees of enthusiasm, because Sakurai seemed to be embarrassed about something Momoi apparently had no idea about. For better or worse, it turned out rather quickly, that the issue was Aomine’s skimpy swim wear.

“Damn it, Dai-chan!” she squeaked, covering her eyes. “Put something on, please!”

“Eh? But I am wearing speedos? Are you blind? Ryou, tell her!”

Sakurai whimpered softly. “I’m so sorry, Momoi-san, I couldn’t stop him…”

Trying her hardest to avoid any kind of eye-contact with anything in the general vicinity of Aomine-kun, Satsuki reluctantly led them to the beach, which was oddly deserted for this time of the year, not to mention the fact that no one was swimming. Before she could examine the possible reasons behind it, Aomine was dragging Sakurai into the water, causing a ruckus like always, which caught the attention of an old lady reading a book nearby. She shook her head in exasperation and waved at Momoi, beckoning her to come closer.

“Your friends might want to get out of there,” she muttered. “Some local kids destroyed the sign, but the water is full of jellyfish.”

Satsuki paled, mouth agape, and turned around to shout a warning, but Aomine’s pained cry resounded before she could do that. Heart threatening to burst out of her chest, she ran off to the shore, watching the boys slowly emerge out of water. They were truly a mortifying sight, with a screaming, _buck naked_ Aomine wrapped around Sakurai, who was thankfully much stronger than he looked, and somehow managed to carry Aomine to the shore on shaking legs, only to collapse on top of him as soon as his feet touched the sand.

Satsuki rushed to their side, instantly covering them both with a towel, face red from embarrassment. Sakurai-kun kept mumbling apologies as he scrambled off Aomine, careful not to expose him, and promptly threw his arms around Momoi, seeking comfort after an undoubtedly traumatizing experience, the nature of which Satsuki was yet to learn. She patted Sakurai’s wet back, the chill of his body running a shiver down her spine. Her ears were ringing, because she had no idea what happened, and she wasn’t all that sure she _wanted_ to know.

“There’s sand in my butt,” complained Aomine. “Like, really deep in my butt.”

Satsuki resisted the urge to kick him in the face. “Someone better start explaining.”

“I’m sorry,” mumbled Sakurai, hiccupping. “There was a jellyfish and it took Aomine-san’s speedos. I’m so sorry!”

Momoi had no idea whether to laugh or cry, but she knew one thing – they were going back home right this instant. As soon as they got back to the tent and found Aomine-kun some pants, she was packing all their things, refusing to acknowledge either of them even talking to her. That was _not_ her dream camping trip with her boyfriends, and she needed to keep herself occupied in order not to cry, seeing as her eyes were already brimming with tears. Suddenly, Aomine was manhandling her to her feet, and there were two bodies pressed to hers in a tight embrace.

“I’m sorry,” said Sakurai into her neck. “We’ll make it up to you, Momoi-san...”

“It could’ve been worse,” added Aomine, rubbing her back. “I could get seriously stung by that jellyfish. Like, in the dick, or something.”

Sakurai snorted, shaking his head in amusement. “This isn’t about _you,_ Aomine-san... But it’s really incredible that the jellyfish latched onto that one millimeter of clothing you were wearing…”

Momoi couldn’t hold back a giggle at that. As funny as it would be to see Aomine-kun covered in countless blotchy effects of a jellyfish sting, it would probably give her a heart attack, or at least make her hair turn gray prematurely, and she couldn’t help feeling relieved. This definitely wasn’t her idea of a romantic getaway, but it certainly felt _familiar._ She untangled herself from their arms and looked at them; they really were useless, both of them, but they were hers.

“Yeah,” she agreed, cracking up a smile. “Idiot’s luck~”


	18. Chapter 18

There were two important factors that caused Aomine to find himself in his current situation. First of all, his best friend Satsuki was eighty percent of his impulse control. Secondly, he absolutely hated dentists. Thus, it was no wonder that he dragged her to his first dentist appointment in years – not to hold his hand, or anything lame like that, but to protect the poor unfortunate dentist.  _That_  was the reason, okay?

Considering that Sakurai Ryou looked twice as scared as Aomine felt, constantly apologizing for every little move or word, he was very glad Satsuki was there to hold his hand after all, because Aomine went into homicidal mode in ten seconds flat. Seriously, if he had to be subjected to this kind of torture, he at least wanted to be sure he was in capable hands, and not uncertainly experimented on by a shaky boy just out of school!

But he really couldn’t help noticing that Sakurai hit all the spots for him, being basically the exact opposite of Satsuki, who was usually loud, violent, and generally overbearing, which made Aomine appreciate and crave mild and soft people like the dentist. Even if they were about to possibly go completely crazy, knock his best friend out, and drill a hole in his head with no anesthesia. Aomine did always develop crushes on the wrong people way too easily…

Understandably, he growled whenever Sakurai got too close to him, which only resulted in more apologies, which in turn stressed Aomine even more. Satsuki just sat there uselessly, patting his hand, and very inconspicuously mouthing to Sakurai to use the narcosis already. Sakurai was convinced the procedure required only local anesthesia, but he soon changed his mind, when Aomine used the hand Satsuki wasn’t holding to grab Sakurai’s coat, and state his opinion on the matter very  _clearly._

“And no flirting while I’m out, got it?” he muttered, narrowing his eyes at Satsuki.

“Oh, no, I would never even consider!” protested Sakurai. “I’m sorry! I don’t mean that your girlfriend is unattractive, Aomine-san! Not that I’ve been checking her out! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t checking you out, Momoi-san! Not that you aren’t worth of being checked out! Oh, I am  _so_  sorry!”

Satsuki giggled, patting Sakurai’s head. “Don’t worry, Dai-chan isn’t my boyfriend! And he meant me~ I’m not supposed to flirt with  _you!_ ”

“Yeah, I call dibs, and you better respect that, Stupidsuki!”

Yeah, Sakurai was a dentist, which was a major flaw, but he looked so pretty, and smelled so nice, and his blush was so cute, so maybe Aomine could change his mind about following the path of destruction, and convince him to become a stay-at-home wife, to cook for him, and love him forever. Even before his vision started to get blurry, that particular train of thought alerted Aomine about the incoming lack of consciousness, and an evil gleam in Satsuki’s eyes was the last thing he saw before everything turned black.

When he woke up, everything was swimming, and when his vision cleared a bit, he saw Satsuki, winking at him encouragingly, which made him a bit nauseous. Then, he saw his dentist, a sight for sore eyes, so pretty and nice-smelling, and Aomine felt oddly emotional about the fact that he looked distressed, and he just had to touch his face.

“I wanna eat your face,” he slurred. “It’s like a really pretty basketball.”

Sakurai blushed. “I’m sorry! I can’t let you do that, I need my face!”

“Okay,” mumbled Aomine, grinning. “Can I lick it then?”

Satsuki snorted. “Aaand, it’s our cue to go, Dai-chan. Can’t have you ruining your slim chances with your happy-high babbling~”

Aomine pouted, inconsolable, but let Satsuki lead him outside and stuff him into the car. She kept giggling to herself whenever Aomine made a comment about something that caught his attention, like the fact his legs were really long, and it was kind of difficult to fit them in the car, and Aomine felt really glad that he was making her happy. But she kept nudging him, and asking him questions whenever he was about to doze off, which really felt like a huge betrayal, since she knew how much he loved sleeping, so he didn’t feel like making her happy anymore.

“So how do you like dentists now, Dai-chan?” she prompted.

Aomine sighed dreamily. “I want to have his babies…”

“I did an interview with him while you were out cold, and I approve of this decision wholeheartedly. He is just about the cutest thing ever! He also left something in your pocket!”

Aomine didn’t have the chance to ask her about the mysterious present, because he had to protect his pride, and protest vehemently when Satsuki manhandled him inside his apartment. She forced him to watch some stupid drama he vaguely remembered hating, but it was actually very beautiful and moving, so he cried a lot. But Satsuki didn’t make fun of him for that, and even went to the kitchen, when he complained about being hungry, but she was taking too long, so he decided to check his pockets for snacks.

The only thing he found there was a piece of paper with some random numbers on it, but he was really hungry, so he ate it.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aomomosaku

Momoi smoothed her palm on the mattress, sighing contentedly, and turned her head to Sakurai, who was staring at the ceiling in awe, his cheeks flushed. She giggled, her back sagging against the actual cloud they were lying on, and she petted the mattress once more before grabbing Sakurai’s hand.

“Perfect,” she said.

He nodded. “It’s the best thing that’s happened to me in my entire life.”

Momoi laughed delightedly; the fact Sakurai didn’t even apologize for saying that spoke for itself. She turned her head to Aomine to ask his opinion on the matter, but he was already snoring, which was pretty telling as well. She felt so good she didn’t really want to move, but people were staring at them, so they had to.

“We’ll take it,” she decided, springing to her feet.

The store assistant blushed, and awkwardly stammered something out, and Momoi followed him to sign the paperwork, leaving the nearly impossible task of waking Aomine up to Sakurai, assuming he’d still be at it long after she was done with finalizing their purchase. Boy, was she wrong. Before she knew what was going on, Aomine was storming into the office, pushing her aside.

“Leave the business to men, ugly.”

She kicked his shin as hard as she could. “Over my dead body!”

“That can be arranged, more room for the two of us.”

“You can’t say that, Aomine-san!” protested Sakurai, flushing.

Momoi rolled her eyes – she could tell Sakurai was the tiniest bit tempted too. She sighed, reminding herself that Dai-chan was always so unbearably grumpy after waking up, and they’d stay here forever if she didn’t let this one go. She benevolently allowed him to play the head of the family, but only because she was in a extremely generous mood – you didn’t find absolutely perfect and affordable king-size mattresses every day. She stuck out her tongue at Aomine, taking Sakurai’s hand to lead him outside to get a head-start at bringing their ruin of a car back to life for long enough to get them back home.

After what seemed like forever, Sakurai finally managed to start the engine – he was the only one who ever tried, because no one else had his determination when it came to not losing to that piece of junk. Their triumphant shouts and customary victory dance were suddenly interrupted by Aomine calling them. They turned their heads and completely froze upon seeing Aomine dragging the massive mattress across the parking lot; Momoi almost _screamed_.

“Why?!” she wailed “Why?! The delivery fee was _within_ the budget!”

Aomine scoffed. “Yeah, well, now we can spend the money on something else. Like condoms.”

Sakurai ran off to help Aomine on slightly wobbly legs, evidently flushed by the comment, and Momoi was momentarily distracted by how cute that was, and how fond she was of his innocence, and how she wanted to kiss them both when Aomine awkwardly angled his arm enough to graze his fingers against Sakurai’s ear in silent thanks for grabbing the mattress from the other end. It was a serious blow, but she recovered fast.

“We are not taking this mattress on our own,” she announced firmly, crossing her arms.

Aomine ignored her until he and Sakurai somehow managed to put the mattress on the hood of their car; Momoi could swear she could head the car whine in protest. Aomine ruffled Sakurai’s hair, his hand  lingering on the back of his neck, and Momoi felt an irrational surge of jealousy – she had to seduce the usually indecisive Sakurai back onto her side immediately, or else it’d be the two of them against her in a case where she was _clearly_ right. She especially hated losing when she was right.

“Ryou-kun,” she whined, throwing her arms around his neck, enjoying the heat creeping up his face even more than Aomine’s indignant squawk. “You can’t tell me you like this idea… The car won’t survive this. Just look at it…”

“Stop being dramatic, Satsuki!” protested Aomine, trying to push her off. “The car will be fine. I thought you’d be happy I’m saving money, being all grown-up and responsible! I was expecting a hand-job in the backseat, and what I get instead is you trying to steal my boyfriend!”

“He’s my boyfriend too, so I’m not _stealing_ anyone!” she squeaked, outraged.

Sakurai was whiter than the mattress, looking between them frantically, cross-eyed and stumbling over a litany of apologies, and Momoi felt so bad she didn’t react quickly enough before Aomine protectively wrapped his entire body around Sakurai, growling at her. Again, she was distracted by how adorable that was, and she eventually had to admit defeat – this particular battle was lost, and she was ready to acknowledge that it was due to her own weakness.

“If anything explodes, I’m leaving,” she tried one last time.

Aomine rolled his eyes, resting his chin on top of Sakurai’s head. “You can’t leave, stupid. I’m driving, since I can’t count on any backseat action. Now come get a hug.”

Still slightly cross with the both of them, and mostly angry at herself, she wriggled herself between them, and took a deep breath, focusing on how warm and bony they were, how tightly they held her, how Sakurai smelled of strawberries, and Aomine smelled of leather. She remembered how nice that mattress was. Appeased, she stepped away and nodded decisively before eyeing the mattress strapped to the hood, suspiciously.

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

Grinning, Aomine sat behind the wheel, and Sakurai joined Momoi on the backseat, shyly angling closer in an attempt at reconciliation. Biting her cheek to stop from laughing, she pretended to ignore him for a moment, but the helpless looks he was casting at Aomine in the rear-view mirror simply broke her heart into a million love-sick pieces, and she lunged at him, covering his face in kisses and listing all the amazing things they were going to do on the mattress.

Exactly nine minutes and forty six seconds later, Momoi was sitting on the side of the road in the cloud of smoke coming out of the engine, while Aomine kicked the tire, cursing, and Sakurai paced nervously, muttering apologies to himself, looking like the engine smelled – wrecked. With a long-suffering sigh, Momoi got up, dusted off her skirt, and started walking.

“What are you doing, Momoi-san?” asked Sakurai, confused.

Momoi waved at them without turning around. “What I said I would – leaving.”


End file.
